Hanger 9 Pizazz Kit Review
03-03-2002, 06:56 AM
#1
Hanger 9 Pizazz Kit Review
The Hanger 9 Pizazz is a 48" wingspan funfly/3D ARF that comes finished in transparent red Ultracote with white and black&white checkered trim. The finished weight is supposed to come out between 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 pounds. I have setup one for a friend in stock form and assembled one for myself which I modified a little, giving me enough of a feel for this plane to give a fair review. I,m not going to go into extreme detail, but I will note the plusses and minuses as I see them. I will also provide the modifications that I made on mine. I do not have photo equipment, so photos are not included.
Follow the provided instruction book (which is excellent) in the assembly of this kit. The instructions start off with the main wing installation, but I started with the tail installation for easier movement in my shop during assembly. Which ever way you go, be sure to make sure everything is straight and in alignment. Not a hard thing to do with this kit.
You may want to replace the provided control rods in this kit. Both kits I have worked with had very soft 2-56 size rods, that bent very easily. Replace the Great Planes type CA hinges provided in the kit with another type. I have seen 4 hinges break so far. The provided hinges break very easily.
Hanger 9 cut rather large holes in the fuselage for installation of the main wing, giving a loose fit. H-9 suggested filling the gap with epoxy, but I cut saddle crutches to fit over the wing inside and against the fuselage, giving better support and providing backing for the epoxy fill. When you mix your epoxy to fill these gaps, try mixing some red paint with the epoxy. The gaps disappear like magic.
Be careful when installing the tailwheel assembly. You have to make your own 90 degree bend to fit the tailwheel wire into the rudder. Measure and mark and check your measurements again before you make your bend. Not a difficult part, but you only get one try. When installing the tail assembly, take the time to sand the lower front edge of the rudder where it fits into the fuselage. Go slowly and you will be rewarded with a smooth fit and transition where it meets the fuselage.
Note that the kit calls for a .40-.58 two stroke or up to a .72 four stroke. This plane will do the most beautiful full power tail slide you have ever seen with an OS .46, but it will not climb out of it or hover. It will stand on it's tail and roar with a Tower .75 or an MDS .78. Consider the larger engines, they drop right into the mount without extra cutting or fitting. If you use a larger engine, the 8 ounce tank will come in a little short for flight time. A Sullivan RST12 will fit without much bother, giving you that extra flight time. Do not fly this plane at extremely fast speeds, especially with the stock control rods. The ailerons will flutter at high speed, bending the stock rods. You don't need to fly this plane like a Quickie 500, it performs great at lower speeds.
Standard sized radio equipment will fit ok in the wing cut outs, but you come out a little snug when you are installing the battery and receiver in front of the wing. Because of this, and because I decided to use the larger MDS .78 engine, I modified my kit in several areas. I cut a hatch into the cockpit floor, allowing me to attach an 1800 Mah battery to the top of the hatch that I can move fore and aft for CG changes. I used red vinyl tape to attach the canopy to the fuselage after painting the inside to hide the battery.
Because of the larger engine weight, I installed the rudder servo (a Hitec 225mg) under the stabilizer on the left side of the fuselage. If you do this, be careful that the hole you cut in the fuselage for the servo does not interfere with the exits for the elevator rods. Also, back up the servo cut out with some light ply to give more material for your servo mounting screws to bite into and to provide structural support under the stabilizer. I used 4-40 hardware on everything. The weight gain is worth it for the extra strength and rigidity.
MISSES:
Control rods are to light. Hinges provided break easily after installation. Fuel tank is a little on the small side even with a .46 size engine. Main wing diagonal rib bracing tends to break loose in both kits assembled. More irritating than anything else. You need a 12" or longer 1/8" drill bit to drill the holes through the firewall and wing for the throttle control rod.
PERFORMANCE:
The Pizazz is an excellent airplane however you build it. With the smaller displacement engines, it will suffer in some of your vertical manuvers. With the larger engines, it will hover and torque roll at 1/2 throttle or less and then climb out without any problems. It will do any manuever that you are capable of performing. Landing is a non event with this plane. It slows wayyy down for landing, or you can harrier it in for a tailwheel first arrival.
Use the Sullivan RST 12 tank for the larger engines. If you run the bigger motors, consider putting the rudder servo in the rear of the fuselage. It offsets the weight of the larger motor up front. No balance weight was used in my Pizazz with the MDS .78, and it weighed out at 5 1/4 pounds. You will love this plane.
Follow the provided instruction book (which is excellent) in the assembly of this kit. The instructions start off with the main wing installation, but I started with the tail installation for easier movement in my shop during assembly. Which ever way you go, be sure to make sure everything is straight and in alignment. Not a hard thing to do with this kit.
You may want to replace the provided control rods in this kit. Both kits I have worked with had very soft 2-56 size rods, that bent very easily. Replace the Great Planes type CA hinges provided in the kit with another type. I have seen 4 hinges break so far. The provided hinges break very easily.
Hanger 9 cut rather large holes in the fuselage for installation of the main wing, giving a loose fit. H-9 suggested filling the gap with epoxy, but I cut saddle crutches to fit over the wing inside and against the fuselage, giving better support and providing backing for the epoxy fill. When you mix your epoxy to fill these gaps, try mixing some red paint with the epoxy. The gaps disappear like magic.
Be careful when installing the tailwheel assembly. You have to make your own 90 degree bend to fit the tailwheel wire into the rudder. Measure and mark and check your measurements again before you make your bend. Not a difficult part, but you only get one try. When installing the tail assembly, take the time to sand the lower front edge of the rudder where it fits into the fuselage. Go slowly and you will be rewarded with a smooth fit and transition where it meets the fuselage.
Note that the kit calls for a .40-.58 two stroke or up to a .72 four stroke. This plane will do the most beautiful full power tail slide you have ever seen with an OS .46, but it will not climb out of it or hover. It will stand on it's tail and roar with a Tower .75 or an MDS .78. Consider the larger engines, they drop right into the mount without extra cutting or fitting. If you use a larger engine, the 8 ounce tank will come in a little short for flight time. A Sullivan RST12 will fit without much bother, giving you that extra flight time. Do not fly this plane at extremely fast speeds, especially with the stock control rods. The ailerons will flutter at high speed, bending the stock rods. You don't need to fly this plane like a Quickie 500, it performs great at lower speeds.
Standard sized radio equipment will fit ok in the wing cut outs, but you come out a little snug when you are installing the battery and receiver in front of the wing. Because of this, and because I decided to use the larger MDS .78 engine, I modified my kit in several areas. I cut a hatch into the cockpit floor, allowing me to attach an 1800 Mah battery to the top of the hatch that I can move fore and aft for CG changes. I used red vinyl tape to attach the canopy to the fuselage after painting the inside to hide the battery.
Because of the larger engine weight, I installed the rudder servo (a Hitec 225mg) under the stabilizer on the left side of the fuselage. If you do this, be careful that the hole you cut in the fuselage for the servo does not interfere with the exits for the elevator rods. Also, back up the servo cut out with some light ply to give more material for your servo mounting screws to bite into and to provide structural support under the stabilizer. I used 4-40 hardware on everything. The weight gain is worth it for the extra strength and rigidity.
MISSES:
Control rods are to light. Hinges provided break easily after installation. Fuel tank is a little on the small side even with a .46 size engine. Main wing diagonal rib bracing tends to break loose in both kits assembled. More irritating than anything else. You need a 12" or longer 1/8" drill bit to drill the holes through the firewall and wing for the throttle control rod.
PERFORMANCE:
The Pizazz is an excellent airplane however you build it. With the smaller displacement engines, it will suffer in some of your vertical manuvers. With the larger engines, it will hover and torque roll at 1/2 throttle or less and then climb out without any problems. It will do any manuever that you are capable of performing. Landing is a non event with this plane. It slows wayyy down for landing, or you can harrier it in for a tailwheel first arrival.
Use the Sullivan RST 12 tank for the larger engines. If you run the bigger motors, consider putting the rudder servo in the rear of the fuselage. It offsets the weight of the larger motor up front. No balance weight was used in my Pizazz with the MDS .78, and it weighed out at 5 1/4 pounds. You will love this plane.
03-06-2002, 07:31 PM
#2
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Pizazz...
Great review! Wish I had thought of the paint in the epoxy, great idea...I also replaced all the control rods with 4-40's, but used the stock throttle.
I have an OS 70 4-stroke on mine, pulls out of a hover great, knife edges all day, just a great all-around plane!
Thanks for the great review!
I have an OS 70 4-stroke on mine, pulls out of a hover great, knife edges all day, just a great all-around plane!
Thanks for the great review!
03-09-2002, 03:16 AM
#3
Hanger 9 Pizazz Kit Review
Thank you for the flowers. I'm glad you are enjoying yours as much as I am mine. Perhaps you can help. I am trying to reach the Mrbonk who has posted the World ultimate 120 review. I have had two of these plane and i have some info he might desire. His noted e-mail address does not want to work for me. Do you have another e-mail address or way to contact him. Please reply to this post for mrbonk/e-mail info.
Thanks,
Silversurfer
Thanks,
Silversurfer
